Polishing-machine for floors.



E. CAVICCHL POLISHING MACHINE FORFLOORS. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 22.1915.

1,294,398, Patented Feb.13,1919,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2A 5 e'SO,

lnvenor. l Ercole Cuvcch, l

AULy'S.

ERCOLE CAVICCHI, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS.

POLISHING-MACHINE FOR FLOORS.

lineages.

- Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented'Feb. i8, i919.

Application med November 22, '1915. seal No. 62,755.

To all whom t may concern." A

Be it 'known that I, ERCOLE CAvrCioHiI, a*

citizen of the United States, and resident of Quincy, 'county ofNorfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement'inPolishing-Machines for Floors, of which the following description7 inconnection with the accompanying rawln'g, is a specification,

like characters on the drawing representing' like para.

This invention relates to improvements in grinding or polishingmachinesof the-type in which/a rotary grinding or'polishing aconsiderable amount of water is supplied to increasethe rapidity ofabrasion and eonsiderable difficulty has been experienced in machines-of this type by reason of the centrifugal action of the grindingmembers forcing-the water and mud away from the center` -of the machineso that a portion of the grinding surface .would run dry.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide .a grindingtool having abrasive members so disposed that feach ofthe abrasivemembers will remain continuously in contact with the surface beingpolished the dispositionof the members being also such as to provide forthe free circulation ofA water or. mud between said members so that eachmember willi'always be providedl'with a suiiicient amount of water toenable to act eiiciently. y i .n Another feature of the inventionconsists in so supportingthe abrasive members that they may be readilyremoved for the purpose of repairor replacement.

Another object of the invention is to pro*n vide a means whereby theentire seriesy of rotary grinding members together with' the drivinghead therefor may be l'readily re moved fr om the driving mechanism tofacilitate transportation of the machine and also to permit easyrepairing of the parts In machines of this character with which YI havebeen familiar the motor foractuating the driving mechanism is supported.upon `a truck, the polishing mechanism being rcarried by the truck at aconsiderable distance beyond vthe end of themotor so that in use it hasbeen necessary to place heavy weights above the grinding mechanism inorder to obtain the desired eihcie'ncy of operation.

VAnother improved feature of the present y invention consists in placingthe axis of the polishing mechanism directly beneath the motor so that'the greater portion of the weight of the motor will be carried directlyby the polishing mechanism thereby greatly increasing the normalpressure between the polishing tools and the surface being treated.

Other features of the invention will more fully appear from :thefollowing description, the accompanying drawings, and will be pointedout in the annexed' claims.'

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of apolishing machine embodying the preferred form of my invention, themotor being shown in elevation,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine the motor having been removed, i

Fig. 3 isa plan view of the rotary driving head for the polishingtoolsillustrating the manner in which the tools are connected to said'guiding member.

Fig. 4 is a bottom lan view of the rotary (i) polishing tools illus#trating one of the preferred formsv of tools,

d'riving member an 4 Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the mechanisms showninA Figs. 3 and 4,

Fig. 6 is a detail flongitudinal sectional .viewof one of the polishingtools showing the universal .connection between .it andthe rotarydriving head,

' 7 is a bottom plan view of a series of F1 polishing tools in`which theabrasive sur-` V`faces are of cylindrical form having tapered endsremovably seated 'in corresponding sockets, and,` y

LFig. 8 isA a-detail vertical sectional view on lines 8 8, Fig. 7. r

f The polishing machine illustrated herein comprises a base or platform1, preferal u,

supported Iat oneend upon a truck and at the -opposite end provided witha downwardly offset portion 2'having a boss 3 providing a. journal for,a driving shaft 4 adapted to actuate a rotary driving heady which willhereinafter be described. yThe odset portion 2 may conveniently bev madeioo in the form of'a gear casing the outer end .providing a'- journal 5for a countershaft adapted to support suitable gears for transmittingpower from the motor to the driving shaft 4. A suitable motor, such asan electric motor 6 is rigidly secured to the base of the platform 1 andits shaft is provided with a gear 7 which meshes with a gear 8 rigidlymounted upon a stud shaft 9 which is mounted in. the bearing in saidplatform extension, the opposite end of the stud shaft 9 being mountedin a socket 10 in a plate 11 which is secured to the platform bybolts12. The plate 11 is also provided with a downwardly extending boss y13in which is formed a thrust bearing 14 for the upper end of the shaft 4.The thrust bearing may be provided with antifriction members of anyusual type such as plates, disks 0r balls. The shaft 9 desirably may beprovided with an axial duct 15 provided with radial apertures extendingto the surface of the shaft and lconnecting' with a duet 16 leading tosaid thrust bearing. The stud shaft 9 preferably is rigidly secured inthe socket 10 by a set screw 17 and is preferably made of a sufficientlength to extend beyond the end of the gear casing and apertured toreceive a pin 18 by which the shaft may readily withdrawn if it isdesired to dismantle the gearing.

A gear 19, having an extended hub 2O is preferably rotatably mountedupon the stud shaft 9 and the hub of the gear 8 is rigidly secured tothehub of the gear v19 by a key so thatthe gears 8 and 19 will rotatetogether upon the shaft 9. The gear 19 engages a beveled gear 21 whichis rigidly secured upon the driving shaft 4. vIt

'will therefore be obvious that the rotation 'mechanism thereby'rendering it necessary to place a heavy weight above the polishingmechanism. By reason of the novel construction above described the shaft4 is placed directly beneath the motor so that a considerable portion ofthe weight of the vmotor is carried directly by the polishing mechanismthrough thelshaft v4. The oppsite end of the platform 1 may besupported` in any convenient manner` as by means of a truck having asingle or preferably a plurality of wheels.

As illustrated herein the wheels 22 are rotatably mounted upon an axle23 which' is carried by a frame comprising arms 24,'

25 pivotally secured to a shaft 26 mounted in the offset portion 2 ofthe platform, said arms 24, 25 being connected by a cross piece:nase-,sse

26X to maintain the same in parallelism and to provide a rigid frametherefor.

' The axle .23 of the wheels lis adjustably secured tothe platform bymeans of a locking rack 27, 27 having a recess 28 adapted to engagetheaxle 23, said Aracks being connected to a shaft 29 carried bybrackets 30 secured to the lower face of the platform 1. The rack 27desirably is provided with an integral offset lever'31 adapted to bedepressed by the foot of theV operator to disengage the rack 27 from theaxle 23. The' rack 27 is, however, normally maintained in engagementwith the axle by a helical spring 32 surrounding the shaft 29andsecuredl at one end to the rack 27 and itsopposite end engaging theunder face of the platform. f

In order to preventthe complete disengagement of the rack 27 from theaxle 23 and consequently the dropping of the platform I have yfound itconvenient to provide the rack with a preferably integral keeper 33which will permit the rack to be shifted so that any of the recessesthereof maybe engaged with the axle but which will prevent the entiredisengagement of the rack.

Asuitable handle 34 may be connected to the platform by brackets 35, 36which may7 be secured together and to the handle by bolts 37. A switch38 located Iupon the handle within reach of the operator ,mayconveniently be provided for the purpose of .controlling the motor. l

lhile the mechanism above described provides a means for locating theaxis of the driving head for the abrasive members beneath themotor withmeans for maintaining the platform level notwithstanding .the wearingaway. ofthe abrasive members it will be obvious that other mechanisms ofequivalent function may be provided, the principal feature of themechanism thus described" residing in the placing of the axis of thedriving head beneath the motor so A110 that the weight of the latterwill bear directly upon it, and providing suitable means for adjustingthe height of the platform to compensate for the wearing of the abrasivemembers.

The drivingmechanism is preferably detachably connected with the drivinghead in order that the latter may be readily removed for repair andother purposes.

This is accomplished in the preferred V1.20 form of the inventionillustrated herein by providing` the shaft 4 with an enlarged end 40 ofangular, preferably rectangular cross section, said end being adapted tofit in a corresponding socket 41 in a hub 42 extend-123- ing downwardlyfrom the center of the driving head 43, The driving lhead 43 ispreferably in the form of a spider having three arms'l, 45, and 46extending radially from the head' of a preferably integral rircum- 130ferential ring 47. Each of the arms 44, 45, and 46 is preferablyprovided-with a taper- 'ing aperture 48 adapted to receive a stud 49 ina corresponding recess 51 in the plate 52 which carries the abrasivemembers.

v rlhe spherical head 50 may conveniently be retained in its socket 51by a ca'p plate 53 centrally apertured to fit the outer -portion of thehead 5() and provided with slots to receive lugs 54 extendingupwardlyfrom the plate 52, the cap 53 being retained in place by cotterpinsA 55 .passing through apertures in said lugs.

Other forms of universal couplingmay of course be utilized to connectthe driving head with the olishing tools. ever desirable t at suchconnections be uti lized as will permitthe easy removal of the polishingtool from the driving head.

In the present case as in the machine disclosedin my prior patent thedrivinghead is provided with not more thanthree polishy' ing tools whichai'e connected'to the driving head by means of universal joints,consequently the tools are maintained in contact with the surface beingpolishedfat all times.

In my former patent vthe preferred form of polishing tool described andclaimed therein was inthe form of a hollow elliptical abrasive memberadapted to be reversed sothat the Sides might be caused to wearuniformly.' In the present embodiment of my invention each. of thepolishing tools is provided with three abrading blocks triangularlydisposed. By this arrangement not only is `each tool caused to engagedcontinuously the. surface being polished but each abrading block of eachtool is likewise maintained in engagement with the surfacebeing treated;furthermore these abrading blocks are so located as to cause thecirculation of Water from one to another.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated a driv- 'ing head as provided withthree polishing tools 56, 57, 58. These tools are preferably of the sameform, each comprising a subj stantially triangular plate 52havingrecesse's 60, 61 and 62 disposed in triangular arrangement inwhich are seated respectively abrading blocks 63', 64'and 65.

vThese abradingblocks are spaced at differenty radial distances from theaXis of r0- tation ofthe driving member and are so' disposed that' wateror mud encountered by the abrading block 6 4 will be partly thrust Eachof the polishing tools 56, 57, and 58 is pivotally secured within thearea of the It is how-' triangle formed by lines-joining the abradingblock by a universal joint connection such as is illustrated in Fig. 6,vand above described, so that each block is free to tilt in anydirection. A l

In order however to prevent an undesirable amount of tilting when anunusual obstruction is encountered the under face of the driving head 43is provided with downwardly extending lugs 66 `located above andsubstantially adjacent the corners of the plate 52. In order to preventrelative rotation between the polishing tools and the rotary drivinghead it is provided with spirit of my invention and the scope of theVfollowing claims, the principal feature of the invention residin in thefact that each polishing toolis provided with members disposed intriangular relation'so that allv of the tools may be caused to engagethe surface being treated at all times.

It niaybe noted in this connection that one or two abrading tools mightbe utilized with the same general function and without thesusceptibility of abrading either as Would be the case if more,thanthreetools were used. VIn my prior application the claims cover aconstruction in which three polishing tools are provided upon a rotaryhead each of said polishing tools .having a single abrading surface. Thepresent invention and thelclaims herein are intended to -cover therotary polishing machine having either one, two or three polishing toolsand each tool provided with two or three abrading members.

`In Figs. 7 and 8 a different form ofabrading tool is illustrated inwhich the abrading blocks are cylindrical in form and are seated `apexof the triangle, another .cylindrical block 71 being disposed morenearly the center of rotation anda pair of cylindrical blocks 72 locatedat a greater distance from the center. of .rotation than either of theblocks 71. In this constructionthe blocks 72 are in ,effect a singlegrinding member constituting one `of the triangularly disposed series, fj

These'abrading blocks are preferably of corundum and are provided withbeveled upper ends 73 which are seated in similarly Abeveledor conicalapertures 74 which pref eiably extend through the plate 52x asillustrated inFig. 8. This forms a convenient constructioii forassembling and replacing the grinding members. Heretofore the abradingblocks have been secured in place in the polishing tool by. adhesivemediums such as melted sulfur, cement and the like. By seating thetapered ends of the abrading blocks in corresponding apertures however,

the' assembling and dismantling of the abradiiig members is greatlyfacilitated. lVhile the abrading members are assembled in Figs. 7 and 8it will be noticed that the same may be constructed in other formswithin the meaning and scope of the following claims.

In the use of the invention the rotation of the grinding head causes acreeping of the machine along the floor or other surface being polishedso that the same may be" easily directed by the operator through thesteering handle. In order to prevent the grinding head from coming intoContact with the walls, posts or other obstructions and vto avoiddamaging thesame a guard ring is preferably placed about the grindinghead.

As illustrated herein this guard device comprises a metallic ring 75which. preferably` extends entirely around the guiding head and issupported by three brackets 76, 77, 78 connected to said ring and to thesides and front of theextension 2 of the platform.

It will be further understood that the particular mechanisms disclosedherein are illustrative in character and are not restrictive and thatvarious modifications in form, dimensions, arrangements, etc., may bemade within the spirit of the following claims f means for preventinghereto annexed.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a machine of the class described comprising a driving head andmeans'foi` actueach connected to( said head by universal couplings topermit the independent tilting of each tool, each tool comprisingabrasive members rigidly secured thereto and arranged in triangularrelation whereby said members will be maintained at all times in contactwith the surface being treated and rotation of said tools relatively tosaid head.

3. In a'machine of the class described comprising a drivingliead'andmeans for actuating the same; a plurality of polishing toolseach connected to said head by universal couplings to permit theindependent tilting of each tool, each tool comprising a plate havingapertures with upwardly converging walls, and abrasive 4members havingtaper-y ing ends seated in said apertures, whereby the abrasive membersmay be readily removed and replaced.

4f. In a machine of the class described comprising a rotary driving headand means for actuating the same; a series of three nonerevolublepolishing tools connected to i independent tilting of each tool in anydiy rection, each tool comprising abrasive members arranged intriangular relation and atv different distances from the axis ofrotation of Said driving head whereby said abrasive members Will bemaintained at all times in contact with they surfacev being treated andpaths provided for free circulation of water throughout the area engagedby said abrasive members.

6. In a machine of the class ldescribed comprising a rotary driving headand means for actuating the same; a-series ofpolishing tools, ,eachcomprising three `abrasive members, connected-to said head by universalcouplings to permit independent tilting of each tool in any direction,means to prevent rotation of said tools relatively to said head Withoutinterfering with the freedom of tilting of said tools, and means forlimiting the amount of said tilting of said tools.

7. In a machine of the class described comprising arotary'driving headand means for actuating the same; a series of polishing tools .connectedto said head by universal couplings, lugs depending from said headloosely lengaging adjacent ends of said polishing tools adapted toVprevent relative rotation between said tools andl said head but to allowindependent tilting of said tools. f,

8. In a machine of the class described comprising a driving head andmeans for' actuating the same; a lseries of polishing tools each havingabrasive members arranged in. triangular relation, aball and socketconnection between the driving head labrasive members, apertured lugsupon said tool'projecting upwardly and disposed upon opposite sides ofsaid sockets,'keeper lplates engaging the spherical heads of said studsand said lugs and Cotter pins removably securedA in said lugs adapted,detachably to retain said keeper plates.

10.1In a machine of the class describedcomprising a driving head andmeans for actuating the same, a polishing tool comprising a platehavingapertures with upv Wardly converging colloidal Walls andcylindrical members having conoidal ends tapered to fit said apertures.

l1. In a machine of the class described comprising a driving head andmeans for actuating the same, a polishing tool comprising a platehaving. apertures with upwardly converging conoidal Walls extendingthrough said head and cylindrical members having conoidal ends taperedto fit said apertures. A

In testimony Whereoi'l have signed my name to this specification.

nncoLn CAvIcCHI.

